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The Irish Sun
08-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
GAA legend suggests ‘huge issue' dating back 10 years behind Dublin downfall after latest gaelic football setback
ALAN BROGAN suggested a lack of schooling has led to Dublin GAA being taught a lesson. The Sky Blues have had a difficult recent few weeks, with a number of their gaelic football teams suffering defeat in championship. 2 Dublin lost to Meath in the Leinster SFC semi-finals Credit: Ray McManus/Sportsfile 2 Alan Brogan explored the reason behind recent results Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile The headline-grabbing one was the seniors, who lost to Meath for the first time in 15 years in the Leinster SFC semi-final. But there was trouble further down the ladder, with both their U20s and minors losing to Louth in the respective semi-finals. It raised the alarm for Alan Brogan, who won three All-Ireland titles with the Dubs. And he suggested a falling standard at schools level may be one of the root causes. Read More on GAA He said: "Disappointing results for Dublin seniors, 20's and minors in last few weeks. "Difficult to pinpoint reasons for what seems like a drop off but I believe the drop-off in standard of Gaelic football in Dublin secondary schools in last 10 years is huge issue." When one follower asked why he put more responsibility at the doors of schools rather than clubs, Brogan pointed to his own experience. He added: "Most of my football between the age of 12 and 17 was played in school in St Declans. Most read in Sport "Huge stepping stone towards Dublin minors etc playing regularly against top schools in Dublin and Leinster." Whatever the cause, senior football manager Dessie Farrell will be hoping his side bounce back in the All-Ireland series. Owen Mulligan teases Lee Keegan over hilarious contrast in how their inter-county GAA careers ended They have been drawn in the group of death alongside Connacht champions Galway, Derry, and the losers of the Ulster final between Sam Maguire holders Armagh and Donegal. The This gave the Rob Finnerty, who helped the Tribesmen get their hands on the Nestor Cup yet again, He said: 'All we were thinking about was winning another Connacht title. It wasn't ideal that they did the draw beforehand. 'Even this weekend after the Ulster and Leinster finals would be ideal, just do it on TV after. 'It doesn't really make much sense in my eyes, knowing where you're going to be and who you're facing. 'But I think we did a good job of just staying focused on Mayo and on winning a Connacht Championship. 'The double-header will only add to the occasion and hopefully as many Galway people as possible can get down to it.'
Irish Times
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Conor McManus: Leaders emerge for Galway, but Mayo lose their way again
I lost a couple of provincial finals before I won one, and it is debilitating for a team. In those days it was, if anything, worse because it meant you had an extra game to play whereas now it's more like two separate championships. Province is over and move on to All-Ireland. It makes no difference whether you've won or lost in practical terms. Sunday was a bit different in that it won't be as easy for Mayo to recover from losing. Galway already had three Connacht titles. If they hadn't won, they'd still have the likes of John Maher as well as Shane Walsh and Damien Comer to come back in the coming weeks. They could build themselves up nicely going into the All-Ireland series, whereas Mayo probably needed that bit of a springboard going into the rest of the season. Galway deserved to win and even if they would have been in a better position to process defeat this fourth provincial title is a huge achievement for them. It's an uncomfortable truth for Mayo that when it came to clutch moments in the contest, they were found wanting. READ MORE It has to be all the more devastating for them that they had worked so hard to rescue the situation after half-time. Eight points down at half-time, but with a strong breeze to come, and Ryan O'Donoghue gets a two-pointer nearly straight away. Everyone watching is thinking, 'We have a game here.' They level at 1-13 each and there's probably a quarter of the match to go. At that point you could really see only one winner. Galway captain Seán Kelly lifts the Nestor Cup on Sunday. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho That's what makes it all the more impressive from a Galway point of view. They were fit to grind that out and close the match. In those circumstance, teams need leaders whether in Mayo's case to drive it on and refuse to fall away after levelling the match or in Galway's to find somehow a way of disrupting and turning momentum. That wasn't really there for Mayo and they shot those wides when chances arose to take the lead. This was like oxygen for Galway, who also did have leaders. Cillian McDaid stepped up for them big time with that unbelievable run in the second half up along the stand side, which ended in him being fouled. That relieved the pressure by giving his team time to set up, regroup and just take an easy score. Connor Gleeson, last year's Connacht final hero, also stood up by stopping Enda Hession's point-blank goal shot. Then there was Dylan McHugh and his block on Paul Towey. There was also the disastrous kick-out that Rob Finnerty intercepted, forcing Rory Brickenden to bring him down at the cost of a black card, reducing his team to 14 for the last 10 minutes. You could sense the anxiety in Mayo. Having scored an equaliser by the end of the third quarter and with the wind to back them, they had gone in search of a winner, but scores dried up for them as they failed to take chances. Galway's Johnny McGrath and Ryan O'Donoghue of Mayo. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho I know O'Donoghue had bad luck from the free from outside the arc that Gleeson did or didn't touch, but he also had another chance that was dropped short. To be honest, I'd be more interested in stopping two-pointers being awarded for frees, full stop, rather than fiddling with the rest of the rule. I'd have loved to be playing under these rules, which have created a very forward-oriented game that suits kickers, but long-range frees shouldn't be worth two points any more than 45s are. It's too routine a skill. That anxiety was all too evident at the end when Mayo were chasing the two-pointer needed to equalise. They could still be there for all the interest most of them showed in taking on the kick. Matthew Ruane deserved credit for taking that responsibility, but was that how they had war-gamed a situation like that? Contrast that with Galway. When they had the wind, they worked their attack and you could just see Paul Conroy waiting for somebody to get the ball over to him. As soon as he got it, it was kicked. Conroy's an excellent long-range kicker, one of the best in the country. With the wind at your back, it's just about getting the ball in the air and letting it float over the bar from there. It wasn't a difficult kick for him and you could see that quality kickers are the people who are just good at that. Instead, Mayo anxiously flung the ball around and if the plan was that Ruane should pull the trigger – to be fair, he had already scored a two-pointer – the shot selection wasn't great and it didn't work from a difficult enough angle on the right. Manager Kevin McStay acknowledged the problems after the game, more or less saying that if we can't find a way of closing these games out and closing out positions like that then we ain't going anywhere. He's right. My view on the split season has always been that the inter-county calendar needs another couple of weeks, particularly when you look at all of the speculation about All-Ireland groups and how it cut across counties' preparation last week. Those draws shouldn't have happened. They're a distraction and disrespect the provincial finals. It's not fair on those teams to have that hanging over their heads when their full focus should be on the provincial final. A couple of weeks extra in the season would sort out that. Counties would still get the fixtures in time and we could give the provincial series the due respect that it deserves, because a lot of the talk this week was about who's going to want to be in this group and who's not going to want to be in that group. The teams were preparing for a big challenge. Galway obviously set a lot of store by winning it and made no secret of that choice. Mayo were going all out to win it because they hadn't been champions for four years. I don't buy suggestions that teams were focusing on their All-Ireland groups instead of winning their province.
The Irish Sun
05-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Padraic Joyce hails Galway grit as Tribes edge Mayo in Connacht final classic
PADRAIC JOYCE was the king of Castlebar after their chaotic Connacht final win against Mayo. The 2 Galway manager Padraic Joyce hailed his side's grit after the win in the Connacht SFC final against Mayo 2 Galway captain Seán Kelly lifts the Nestor Cup as the Tribesmen won four on the bounce But the Tribes held their nerve coming down the stretch to haunt their neighbours once more, as Rory Brickenden was black carded on the hour mark and Conor Gleeson's super save denied Enda Hession. Dylan McHugh's heroic block foiled Paul Towey before Liam Ó Conghaile's score saw Mayo off. READ MORE ON GAA He said: 'It is kind of a bad thing that it has taken so long to do. Since the 1960s. Again, so be it. We obviously weren't good enough over the years. We've done it now. 'We knew it was going to come down to the wire. It's about making the right decisions in high pressure situations as we call them. We got a bit of luck but sometimes when you work hard enough a bit of luck will come your way. 'Two teams going at it hammer and tongs. While I'm elated, we could easily have come out on the wrong side as well. Mayo came back well. 'It looked like we were in trouble against the wind, under pressure on our kickout, in fairness to the lads they controlled the ball. Most read in GAA Football 'When we had the man advantage we took into the tackle a few times which we will improve on but overall I have to command the lads for the work they put in. "This has been a target for the group and we'll enjoy it now, and move on. Tipperary GAA legend reveals surprising difference between 'pressure' of playing for club vs county 'For us to come out of Connacht as number one seeds, it's great to win it. It gave us huge momentum last year and you see where we ended up. 'To try and regroup and play again in two weeks after a defeat, it's just a different mindset so I'm delighted to come out of it.' Matthew Tierney's first half penalty and 0-7 from reigning Footballer of the Year Paul Conroy was crucial. But McHugh's block to deny Towey with two minutes to go was every bit as important. And the Corofin defender was braced for whatever Mayo threw at them when the chips were down. He said: 'As I said out there, if you're not going to put your head on the line with two minutes to go in a Connacht final, you're never going to do it. 'That's what you train for, that's what a tight game is - it comes down to moments. And yeah, some big ones.'
Irish Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Galway advance with precious momentum as Mayo left to lick their wounds
As a final affront, the Galway team bus snaked away from MacHale Park on Sunday evening to a loud celebratory soundtrack of beeping and hollering and yelping. The neighbours chastened once again. The Tribesmen had just won a record 51st Connacht title, pulling three clear of Mayo . In doing so they had also claimed a first four in-a-row since 1963-66. They managed it without two of their key players – Shane Walsh and Damien Comer – and even as the fans spilled down to the pitch at the end of the game it was clear the difference between victory and defeat fell somewhere between colossal and immense. In the tunnel afterwards, Pádraic Joyce was asked about the momentum they have now for a crack at Sam Maguire. The big time awaits. Down the way Kevin McStay was left rummaging around the wreckage for some scraps of hope. Nobody is quite sure what the future holds now for this Mayo team. READ MORE Their season isn't over, but it felt like a lot of green and red eggs had been placed in the Nestor Cup basket. In wrestling it back. So where to now? Few Mayo fans are eyeing a day out in the capital on the last weekend of July but even if his body language suggested otherwise, McStay insisted the dream remains alive. 'That's my job, that's what I was appointed for so I can't just perform on the good days and walk away from the tough days,' said McStay when asked if Mayo can regroup for the All-Ireland group stages. 'We have great leaders in the group so we will react because we have done, that's our nature, we will react to it. By Wednesday, the soreness, the edge will have gone off it maybe to a certain degree and we will go again. 'Our recent history with this group is that we have been able to navigate the group series generally, sometimes better, sometimes not as well. But there is certainly no sense that anybody is going to walk on top of us.' They will have Cavan, Tyrone, and the eventual Ulster champions for company in their All-Ireland group. 'Unless I believe in what we are doing I can hardly sell that to the players but I don't have to because I know they will react,' continued McStay. Galway's Matthew Tierney and Matthew Ruane of Mayo in action during the Connacht final at Hastings McHale Park. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho 'But they are so sore now and disappointed and it is a tough dressingroom right now. We have only ourselves to blame about how this is, we got into a position to win it, we didn't win it and we need to reflect on that now and see can we improve. 'And we need to improve fairly quickly at seeing out these games. Galway have the cup now, we had one shot to draw it, that is how close this bloody thing is, but close is no good.' And yet close they were. Still, Galway made the big plays at the pivotal times – Connor Gleeson's fingertips, Dylan McHugh's diving block, Rob Finnerty winning Colm Reape's short kick-out. Gleeson, who kicked the winning free in last year's final, showed brilliant awareness when tipping over Ryan O'Donoghue's two-pointer, his touch took the sting out of the score and out of Mayo's rally. McHugh's block on Paul Towey was exceptional, coaches will be showing it at tutorials for years. 'It's probably a bit of a blur,' said the Galway defender when asked about it afterwards. 'I just remember seeing Paul Towey lining up and I was close enough to apply some pressure, that was it. 'If you're not going to put your head on the line with two minutes to go in a Connacht final, you're never going to do it.' Before the game, it appeared all the local stewards on duty had been handed the same note and told to remain on message throughout because when asked about what might be about to unfold, to a high-vis bib each replied: 'Mayo won't win the All-Ireland but we'll win today'. In a sense, rightly or wrongly, Mayo folk believed this might be their only shot at championship silverware in 2025. For Galway, having reasserted their dominance locally, the challenge now is to stamp their authority on the national stage. Galway manager Pádraic Joyce celebrates with his daughter Jodie and son Charlie in Castlebar. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'For us to come out of Connacht as number one seeds, it's great to win it,' said Joyce. 'To try and regroup and play again in two weeks after a defeat, it's just a different mindset so we're delighted to come out of it.' Galway will be in arguably the toughest group of all alongside Dublin, Derry, and the eventual Ulster runners-up. But they will arrive to that stage brimming with confidence. 'We've been in them [toughest groups] the last few years, it's nothing new to us,' added Joyce. 'We will enjoy tonight and probably enjoy tomorrow as well I'd say.' Up the road in Mayo, the mood will be heavier. It feels a long way back for them now. 'In the prematch commentary I said we'd have no excuses and we don't,' added McStay. 'The cup is presented, there's nobody going to say, 'hang on a minute now we'll play another five minutes'. It's done and dusted, Galway are the champions and we're not, we have to suck that up now and get on with it.' It might prove easier said than done.
The Irish Sun
04-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Galway edge Connacht final thriller to claim four-in-a-row over bitter rivals Mayo
IN A game of moments, Galway made the big ones count as they edged another Connacht final classic against Mayo. 2 Galway captain Seán Kelly lifts the Nestor Cup after his side's victory in the Connacht GAA Football Senior Championship final vs Mayo 2 Paul Conroy of Galway tussles with Mayo's Donnacha McHugh in a tense and thrilling Connacht SFC final It looked like curtains when But they nearly produced a miracle after an epic second half performance that just fell short, but boss Kevin McStay knows moral victories mean nothing when these two go to war. He said: 'Galway are the champions and we're not, we have to suck that up now and get on with it. 'But that's our job is to kind of put a bit of shape on the next fortnight, we were going to have to play the round robin anyway. READ MORE ON GAA "It's not like if we won, somebody was going to give us a pass to the quarter-finals. 'So win or lose, this was facing us and I suppose I'll take a little bit of comfort from the fact that we've done this, this is our third year now to face into the same circumstances. 'We don't have a provincial title and maybe take some solace from the Armagh effort, this time last year they'd lost a very tight Ulster final. Then, they were able to resurrect their season and keep it going obviously. 'Unless I believe in what we are doing I can hardly sell that to the players but I don't have to because I know they will react. Most read in GAA Football 'But they are so sore now and disappointed and it is a tough dressing room right now. We have only ourselves to blame about how this is. 'We got into a position to win it, we didn't win it and we need to reflect on that now and see can we improve, and we need to improve fairly quickly at seeing out these games. Tipperary GAA legend reveals surprising difference between 'pressure' of playing for club vs county 'Galway have the cup now, we had one shot to draw it, that is how close this bloody thing is, but close is no good.' The Tribes looked home and hosed at the break as star hitmen Shane Walsh (back) and Damien Comer (hamstring) looked on from the stand - but Mayo's revival made for a classic. Two-pointers from Matthew Ruane and O'Donoghue reeled Galway in before Davitt Neary and Darren McHale got them back within one in a flash. But as they stared each other down, Mayo blinked first. They never took the lead in the entire second half, and Connor Gleeson made sure of that when he got a touch on O'Donoghue's free from outside the arc on 53 minutes, reducing its worth to one. A frantic finale followed, and Galway fluffed a huge goal chance when Liam Silke played in Cathal Sweeney but the Salthill man lost his footing and Stephen Coen cleared the danger. Cillian McDaid led Galway's final charge, and scored their first point in 10 minutes to ease the pressure when Matthew Thompson put it on a plate for him. With the game level and an hour on the clock, a disastrous Colm Reape kickout went straight into Rob Finnerty's hands and Rory Brickenden was black carded for hauling him down. Playing with 14 men for the final 10 minutes took its toll against a Galway team gunning for Sam, and their extra bit of quality prevailed. Finnerty scored the resulting free and the brilliant Paul Conroy quickly followed suit from play to bring his tally to 0-7. Gleeson denied Enda Hession a certain goal at the other end, before Dylan McHugh somehow blocked Paul Towie's effort a minute later when he pulled the trigger. Big moments. With their tails up, Liam Ó Conaghaile got Galway's insurance score to put them two ahead as the buzzer sounded and he lapped it up in front of the 27,137 gripped by the game. Mayo craved an equaliser that never came, as Matthew Ruane's wide signalled another summer without a Connacht title since their last in 2021. Padraic Joyce's men enter the All-Ireland series group of death along with Dublin, Derry and whoever loses Saturday's Ulster final between Armagh and Donegal - but beating their arch rivals was top priority yesterday morning. Reigning Footballer of the Year Conroy lorded Castlebar with 0-6 in the first half as Johnny McGrath held O'Donoghue to two scores from open play in a gripping duel. Galway led by eight at the break thanks to Conroy's two-point treble and Matthew Tierney's penalty after McHale's goal on seven minutes gave Mayo a dream start. Davitt Neary split open the Tribe defence when he danced around Jack Glynn, and fed the Knockmore man to lash home despite Johnny McGrath's presence on the line. It fired them 1-2 to 0-2 ahead, but they failed to score for the next 27 minutes as Galway slowly pulled away with wind advantage. Conroy had already boomed over his first orange flag from 45 metres out, and swiftly followed up from a free after McHale's goal to silence the home support. Mayo struggled to feed the ball into Aidan O'Shea, who was well marshalled by Sean Fitzgerald. Conroy fired over on the double again when his brilliant dummy fooled Jack Carney and he planted over to spark a 1-6 scoring spree. Matthew Thompson, McDaid, Sean Kelly and Finnerty followed suit as Jordan Flynn and Reape fired wide at the other end. The Tribes won a penalty 10 minutes before the break when Céin Darcy sent McGrath through on goal. His shot was saved by Reape, but the Mayo stopper was penalised for a foot-block and Tierney fired home from the spot to make it 1-10 to 1-2 before a sizzling second half for the ages. Losing to the old enemy at home was far from ideal, and there was far more pressure on Mayo to win after unconvincing performances against Sligo and Leitrim beforehand. An All-Ireland series group alongside the Ulster champions, Tyrone and Cavan awaits - but MacHale Park was maroon and white. MAYO 1-15 GALWAY 1-17 MAYO: C Reape 0-1 45; J Coyne, D McHugh, E Hession; R Brickenden, D McBrien, S Coen; D O'Connor, M Ruane 0-2, 1tp; D Neary 0-1, D McHale 1-2; J Flynn; A O'Shea, J Carney, R O'Donoghue 0-9, 6f, 1tp. Subs: S Callinan for McBrien (blood) 10mins; P Towey for O'Connor HT, F Boland for Neary 61, F Kelly for McHale 66 GALWAY: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh, S Mulkerrin, L Silke; P Conroy 0-7, 2tp, 1tpf, S Kelly 0-1; C Darcy, J Maher, C McDaid 0-2; M Tierney 1-1, 1pen, R Finnerty 0-4, 3f, M Thompson 0-1. Subs: C Sweeney for Maher HT; K Molloy for Fitzgerald 41, C Hernon for Mulkerrin 49, P Cooke for Sweeney 61, L Ó Conghaile 0-1 for Thompson 66 REFEREE: P Neilan (Roscommon)
